1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an automated beverage making machine combining a traditional French Press of the plunger/strainer type with an improved automatic hot water dispensing machine, the dispensing machine having a housing, a water tank, automatic electric water heating means, and a means for receiving a French Press extractor where the extractor also functions as a serving carafe for hot infused beverages such as coffee and tea. Coffee and tea steeped with a traditional French Press provides the beverages with a particular flavor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
French Press beverage makers have been in use for many decades. Employing a French Press with the traditional hand-operated plunger/strainer extracts flavored beverage from a mixture of heated water and beverage making materials, such as ground coffee or tea. The traditional French Press has been in use, particularly in Northern Europe, since the 19.sup.th century. To use such a device to prepare a beverage, it was necessary to employ an exterior and separate water heating or boiling apparatus to heat the water, and then pouring the heated water into the press for steeping, prior to using a plunger with a strainer or filter to extract the hot beverage from the press by separating the infused liquid from the beverage making material.
Automatic hot beverage machines have been in use in the prior art. None of these, however, have been combined with a French Press as in the present invention. One of the disadvantages of conventional hot beverage machines is that they do not provide hot water at a sufficiently high temperature so as to be optimal for use with a French Press plunger/strainer type of device. Extraction of flavor from beverage making materials using a plunger/strainer device requires water heated to a temperature higher than most prior art automatic beverage making machines. In addition, the hot beverage machines of the prior art are not adapted for use with a plunger/strainer type of apparatus functioning as the serving carafe.